Dec. 16 First News: SFPS Still In Running for Federal "Race To The Top" Millions (Listen)

The Santa Fe School District is one of 31 finalists selected for a federal education department grant worth a portion of 120 million-dollars. The Albuquerque Journal reports SFPS is still in the running for a 10 million dollar “Race to the Top” grant. Meantime, Albuquerque Public Schools didn’t make the final cut for a 25 million dollar grant for which it applied. School districts and states do not compete against one another for the grant money. The U-S Department of Education will announce between five and ten winners later this month.

The University of New Mexico’s Health Extension Rural Offices—known as ‘Hero’s’—will be reaching out to rural parts of the state, educating locals about healthcare reform thanks funding from the New Mexico Health Insurance Exchange. Dr. Arthur Kaufman, UNMH’s vice-chancellor for Community health, says the outreach effort will target, among many others, young adults at community colleges: *****Dec. 16 Kaufman-1 :19***** A 35-thousand dollar grant from the state’s Health Insurance exchange seeks to explain the numerous changes and new insurance options under the federal Affordable Care Act.

The Santa Fe National Forest along with the other 10 National Forests in the Southwestern Region are hiring. Denise Ottaviano is the spokeswoman for the Santa Fe National Forest:*****Dec. 16 Ottaviano-1 :16***** Ottaviano says temporary positions are available in multiple locations across New Mexico and Arizona in specialty areas including: fire, range, wildlife, archeology, fisheries, and recreation. Permanent fire positions are also available, including: firefighters, engine operators, dispatchers and more.

When the Senate last week rejected an amendment to a defense bill that would add a national historical park to commemorate the Manhattan Project, it effectively ended the effort, for now anyway. The top-secret Manhattan Project in Los Alamos developed the atomic bomb, helping end World War Two. New Mexico Senator Tom Udall expressed disappointment in the proposal's failure but vowed to keep fighting for passage of the bill.

The state is reviving its effort to compile gaps between finite water supplies and the needs of a growing population so that it can prioritize state projects and policies to handle those gaps. The Albuquerque Journal reports critics believe that the state's top-down approach in its water planning is bypassing the voices of local water users. A similar planning process was launched more than a decade ago, but efforts to complete the project weren’t successful. Previously, communities developed their own supply and demand projections. This time around, the state says it will calculate the numbers for each region.

Santa Fe Weather: Today: Sunny, with a high near 49. Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 22. Tomorrow, sunny, with a high near 51